Check out our new web page at www.zionakron.com, or click on the link on the right sidebar. Its in its infancy, bu we hope to have more content, including pictures of life at Zion, coming soon.
Also, the VIGIL is next Sunday, March 19, at 6:04 pm. Come and worship with us.
Peace,
PM
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Lent 2 March 12, 2006
“Get behind me, Satan”
What have you done in your life to get ahead? Did you invest in a solid education? Did you marry someone with a better pedigree or financial security? Did you invest in the stock market or buy real estate? Did you work hard, really hard, extra hard—to get ahead? Did you get the feeling at a young age, as I did, that the deal in life was to lead, follow, or get out of the way? And that the followers didn’t amount to much. Leadership, being on top, excelling, succeeding, striving for greatness. That is what it is all about. And it is possible in America, yes? Some lower middle class schmuck makes a smart choice and the next thing you know he owns a fortune 500 company. Some computer geek strikes it rich with a search tool called GOOGLE. Anyone can play this game, right? Anyone can be the next American Idol, the next big thing. Just keep your eye on the prize. Get ahead of the next guy; no step on him. Put her in her place. That’ll get you ahead. “Everybody just get out of my way!!” Ever thought that?
“Get behind me, Satan.” You see, Peter had other plans for Jesus and himself. He thought that with Jesus, unlike John the Baptist, they had a guy who could rule the nation. A common man with mass appeal. JBAP was way too fringe to make it all the way. Peter had his man and was willing to sacrifice his own stuff to get him there. Like the campaign chief, Peter knew what it would take to get Jesus to the top—to Jerusalem, the temple, maybe even Rome itself! And any defeatist talk would not suffice. Suffering and death? At the hands of chief priests and scribes? No way. That’s not a get ahead attitude. That’s giving up. That’s giving in. That’s not fighting the good fight. Jesus was not the guy to take one for the team. Peter thought he would be that guy. No, Jesus was the leader of the team. Jesus was the one worth suffering for, so long as it gets him ahead where he belongs.
In how many ways, do we operate from a human motivation to get ahead or to succeed in our own terms? How do we encounter this Jesus, who is willing to surrender without a fight? Suffering is unacceptable. Self-sacrifice without tangible gains, is futility. Jesus is absurd. Peter won’t let him give up and give in. Not without a stern talk first.
“Get behind me, Satan.” Thing is, Jesus doesn’t have to get ahead. He is the head of all things. He is the Son of God. Everyone and everything else is less and must either follow or get out of the way. Satan throws up human intentions and human misunderstanding as roadblocks to God’s mission. But Satan fails. You can’t tell God what to do, no matter who you think you are. God knows we try. As if we know best.
Are you following the way or are you just in the way?
with love, PM
“Get behind me, Satan”
What have you done in your life to get ahead? Did you invest in a solid education? Did you marry someone with a better pedigree or financial security? Did you invest in the stock market or buy real estate? Did you work hard, really hard, extra hard—to get ahead? Did you get the feeling at a young age, as I did, that the deal in life was to lead, follow, or get out of the way? And that the followers didn’t amount to much. Leadership, being on top, excelling, succeeding, striving for greatness. That is what it is all about. And it is possible in America, yes? Some lower middle class schmuck makes a smart choice and the next thing you know he owns a fortune 500 company. Some computer geek strikes it rich with a search tool called GOOGLE. Anyone can play this game, right? Anyone can be the next American Idol, the next big thing. Just keep your eye on the prize. Get ahead of the next guy; no step on him. Put her in her place. That’ll get you ahead. “Everybody just get out of my way!!” Ever thought that?
“Get behind me, Satan.” You see, Peter had other plans for Jesus and himself. He thought that with Jesus, unlike John the Baptist, they had a guy who could rule the nation. A common man with mass appeal. JBAP was way too fringe to make it all the way. Peter had his man and was willing to sacrifice his own stuff to get him there. Like the campaign chief, Peter knew what it would take to get Jesus to the top—to Jerusalem, the temple, maybe even Rome itself! And any defeatist talk would not suffice. Suffering and death? At the hands of chief priests and scribes? No way. That’s not a get ahead attitude. That’s giving up. That’s giving in. That’s not fighting the good fight. Jesus was not the guy to take one for the team. Peter thought he would be that guy. No, Jesus was the leader of the team. Jesus was the one worth suffering for, so long as it gets him ahead where he belongs.
In how many ways, do we operate from a human motivation to get ahead or to succeed in our own terms? How do we encounter this Jesus, who is willing to surrender without a fight? Suffering is unacceptable. Self-sacrifice without tangible gains, is futility. Jesus is absurd. Peter won’t let him give up and give in. Not without a stern talk first.
“Get behind me, Satan.” Thing is, Jesus doesn’t have to get ahead. He is the head of all things. He is the Son of God. Everyone and everything else is less and must either follow or get out of the way. Satan throws up human intentions and human misunderstanding as roadblocks to God’s mission. But Satan fails. You can’t tell God what to do, no matter who you think you are. God knows we try. As if we know best.
Are you following the way or are you just in the way?
with love, PM
By CS Lewis
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Jesus: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God'. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said [referring to Jesus' forgiving the sins of those who had not directly offended him, like the paralytic, etc...] would not be a great moral teacher. He would be either a lunatic---on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg---or else he would be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."--From Mere Christianity
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Saint Patrick
God's might to direct me
God's power to protect me
God's wisdom for learning
God's eye for discerning
God's ear for my hearing
God's Word for my clearing
God's power to protect me
God's wisdom for learning
God's eye for discerning
God's ear for my hearing
God's Word for my clearing
God's Word in Worship Lent 2
These are the Scripture texts for Sunday, March 12th.
Monday: Genesis 17:1-7;15-16
Tuesday: Psalm 22:23-31
Wednesday: Romans 4:13-25
Thursday: Mark 8:31-38
Friday: for courage to follow Jesus in the wilderness of sin.
Monday: Genesis 17:1-7;15-16
Tuesday: Psalm 22:23-31
Wednesday: Romans 4:13-25
Thursday: Mark 8:31-38
Friday: for courage to follow Jesus in the wilderness of sin.
LENT 1
“Immediately the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness.”
In the Season of Lent the Gospel of Mark will take us on an exploration of Jesus’ life, as he does battle with the forces of evil and darkness. Koinonia will follow and comment on the Gospel, so that I can preach on the Old Testament Scriptures. Today, Jesus is tested in the wilderness by Satan. It is his identity as the incarnate Son of God that Satan will test. Who does he think he is, the high and mighty one showing up in rags and poverty? Satan will test Jesus’ ability to persevere in the face of sin. In the weeks ahead, Satan will take the form of friends, like Peter, religious peddlers, “the world”, and death itself. How will Jesus, divine and human, respond to the satanic forces that surround him, plot against him, tempt him, attempt to control him, and work to kill him?
In Mark’s gospel the temptation in the wilderness is an ongoing experience of Jesus’ life on earth. Unlike the other Gospels, in which Jesus clearly outwits the devil and avoids temptation, Mark’s testing is open-ended. There is no clear conclusion to the test. Does Jesus defeat Satan in the wilderness or not? It is unclear at the conclusion of today’s gospel. Why?
Jesus’ life in the wilderness of sin only begins post-baptism and continues until He is raised from the dead. His entire adult ministry is wilderness ministry. Only in His death are sin, death, and the devil ultimately defeated.
Are you baptized? Welcome to the wilderness. If you ever feel like you’re in the wilderness---lost, without God’s clear and visible help or guidance---then you are with Jesus. If you ever feel like you’re unsure how the end will turn out, you are with Jesus. If you’re enduring suffering because of love for someone, you are with Jesus. If you are struggling to cope with the broad and deep realities of injustice that surround us, i.e., poverty, war, hunger, greed, lust for power; then you are with Jesus. If you are questioning the purpose of a religious institution that is more concerned about survival than Gospel mission, you are with Jesus. If you are concerned for people who are nameless, voiceless, weak, imprisoned, and/or cast out of healthy society, then you are with Jesus. If you have discovered that the only one in whom you can put your trust is God, you are with Jesus.
In Baptism, we are joined to Jesus. The Spirit casts us out into the world with His eyes and heart. Your home, your work, your school, your neighborhood are your wilderness. You’ve been driven out with a mission, too. Perhaps this Lent you will seek it and find it---or it will find you…
with love, PM
In the Season of Lent the Gospel of Mark will take us on an exploration of Jesus’ life, as he does battle with the forces of evil and darkness. Koinonia will follow and comment on the Gospel, so that I can preach on the Old Testament Scriptures. Today, Jesus is tested in the wilderness by Satan. It is his identity as the incarnate Son of God that Satan will test. Who does he think he is, the high and mighty one showing up in rags and poverty? Satan will test Jesus’ ability to persevere in the face of sin. In the weeks ahead, Satan will take the form of friends, like Peter, religious peddlers, “the world”, and death itself. How will Jesus, divine and human, respond to the satanic forces that surround him, plot against him, tempt him, attempt to control him, and work to kill him?
In Mark’s gospel the temptation in the wilderness is an ongoing experience of Jesus’ life on earth. Unlike the other Gospels, in which Jesus clearly outwits the devil and avoids temptation, Mark’s testing is open-ended. There is no clear conclusion to the test. Does Jesus defeat Satan in the wilderness or not? It is unclear at the conclusion of today’s gospel. Why?
Jesus’ life in the wilderness of sin only begins post-baptism and continues until He is raised from the dead. His entire adult ministry is wilderness ministry. Only in His death are sin, death, and the devil ultimately defeated.
Are you baptized? Welcome to the wilderness. If you ever feel like you’re in the wilderness---lost, without God’s clear and visible help or guidance---then you are with Jesus. If you ever feel like you’re unsure how the end will turn out, you are with Jesus. If you’re enduring suffering because of love for someone, you are with Jesus. If you are struggling to cope with the broad and deep realities of injustice that surround us, i.e., poverty, war, hunger, greed, lust for power; then you are with Jesus. If you are questioning the purpose of a religious institution that is more concerned about survival than Gospel mission, you are with Jesus. If you are concerned for people who are nameless, voiceless, weak, imprisoned, and/or cast out of healthy society, then you are with Jesus. If you have discovered that the only one in whom you can put your trust is God, you are with Jesus.
In Baptism, we are joined to Jesus. The Spirit casts us out into the world with His eyes and heart. Your home, your work, your school, your neighborhood are your wilderness. You’ve been driven out with a mission, too. Perhaps this Lent you will seek it and find it---or it will find you…
with love, PM
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